The tactical combat rules are just a hunch. No one has ever said they will come out. Now in all probability flanking and charging will probably find their way into the game, but full on tactical rules have never really been confirmed by WotC.

The tactical combat rules are just a hunch. No one has ever said they will come out. Now in all probability flanking and charging will probably find their way into the game, but full on tactical rules have never really been confirmed by WotC.

Would be nice to get some official conformation from wizards about it all...i just say it doesnt provoke atm...but +1 doesn't seem like a big deal when it comes down to it

The tactical combat rules are just a hunch. No one has ever said they will come out. Now in all probability flanking and charging will probably find their way into the game, but full on tactical rules have never really been confirmed by WotC.

In fact tactical rules module was mentioned a few times by Mearls already. Heres a few exemple:

Mike Mearls: The next phase will depend on what the feedback looks like. I'd like to start pushing out some more fighter options and perhaps show off the tactical rules module.

Mike Mearls: First, I think that 4e fans will see more stuff they like - the tactical rules module, maneuvers for fighters, other magic systems - as we move along. So, that's one I think we can fix. What I hope for people who liked 4e is that they get the balance they want and the options to have cool, complex tactical battles that move much faster.

Mike Mearls:This is an easy one - we have a maneuver system in process. Also, the tactical rules module I'm writing as a lot more detail and removes DM adjudication to some parts of the rules (cover) for groups that want that.

Mike Mearls: For combat as sport, that is 100% where the full blown tactical rules module is aiming. This is one of those areas where groups have very different tastes, and modularity should help us bridge that gap if we do it right.

Interviews, Chats ... (click his name it will bring you to the source)

I am sure Legends & Lore and D&D Next Q&As columns have mentions too i just didn't look there.

IIRC a L&L has him discussing possible maneuvers available to everyone in such module too.

Also if someone has the time id would very much appreciate some basic guide lines for building custom encounters...i threw my party about 8 human warriors with 2 warlords(they were 8 level 1s) and while 2 went down that was only due to very very lucky crits by me...i critted initiative and on 3 attacks...

List of no-action attacks.Dynamic vs Static BonusesPhalanx tactics and buildsCrivens! A Pictsies GuideGood
Powers to intentionally miss withMr. Cellophane: How to be unnoticedWay's to fire around cornersCrits: what their really worthRetroactive bonus vs Static bonus.Runepriest handbook & discussion threadHoly Symbols to hang around your neckWays to Gain or Downgrade ActionsList of bonuses to saving throwsThe Ghost with the Most (revenant handbook)

Pocket Protector Pixie Stealth Knight. Maximizing the defender's aura by being in an ally's/enemy's square.

Yakuza NinjIntimiAdin: Perma-stealth Striker that offers a little protection for ally's, and can intimidate bloodied enemies. Very Strong.

Chargeburgler with cheese Ranged attacks at the end of a charge along with perma-stealth. Solid, could be overpowered if tweaked.

Void Defender Defends giving a penalty to hit anyone but him, then removing himself from play. Can get somewhat broken in epic.

Scry and Die Attacking from around corners, while staying hidden. Moderate to broken, depending on the situation.

Skimisher Fly in, attack, and fly away. Also prevents enemies from coming close. Moderate to Broken depending on the enemy, but shouldn't make the game un-fun, as the rest of your team is at risk, and you have enough weaknesses.

Indestructible Simply won't die, even if you sleep though combat. One of THE most abusive character in 4e.

Death's Gatekeeper A fun twist on a healic, making your party "unkillable". Overpowered to Broken, but shouldn't actually make the game un-fun, just TPK proof.

Death's Gatekeeper mk2, (Stealth Edition) Make your party "unkillable", and you hidden, while doing solid damage. Stronger then the above, but also easier for a DM to shut down. Broken, until your DM get's enough of it.

Domination and Death Dominate everything then kill them quickly. Only works @ 30, but is broken multiple ways.

One of the major problems with encounter building right now is that monsters aren't all that great and have problems. A lot of people have been adding +2 to monsters to hit.

My suggestion is that your average 1st level monster should have +2 or +3 to hit. This gives them a good chance to hit anyone who is not a heavily armored fighter. The damage they do should stay in the d4 or d6 range. A d8 on a first level monster is deadly for PCs at first level since most PCs are going to have a d6/d8 for hit dice.

The elite guys can have a +4. Anything higher and you are heading to auto-hit anyone who isn't a fighter.

Aattention to how many fighters you have in your party should be taken into account. The more fighters the more you can throw at the party. Know what spells the wizard can cast. This can influence the tide of battle.

Now you need to think about how many encounters you want in a given day. The more encounters the weaker each individual one needs to be.

As a general rule you can typically have Number of PCs X 2 monsters if the spell casters don't have any area spells. Once you go over double opponents you run the risk of killing the party due to too many attacks even if they are weaker monsters.

One of the problems with encounters right now is that monsters miss a lot but if they do hit they will bring a party down. This of course is made worse when the monsters win initiative they have more chances to hit.

If the monsters are doing low to hit and a d4 you can have more of them. Higher to hit and a d6 you can have less. The trick is finding the balance with your party. One thing you can do is take the average damage of a monster and round up. This can give you an indication of how many rounds your party is expected to survive. Also pay attention to what if you do max damage. Now anticipate how long it will take the party to kill the monster. The longer it takes the less max. damage you want the monster to be able to do.

So how do you go from all of my theoretical advice to actual encounters. Unfortunately the xp values are off right now.

What I recommend is to have an encounter. If it is too easy then you know you can go harder. If it is too hard then you need to cut back. You can continue to eye ball it from there.

List of no-action attacks.Dynamic vs Static BonusesPhalanx tactics and buildsCrivens! A Pictsies GuideGood
Powers to intentionally miss withMr. Cellophane: How to be unnoticedWay's to fire around cornersCrits: what their really worthRetroactive bonus vs Static bonus.Runepriest handbook & discussion threadHoly Symbols to hang around your neckWays to Gain or Downgrade ActionsList of bonuses to saving throwsThe Ghost with the Most (revenant handbook)

Pocket Protector Pixie Stealth Knight. Maximizing the defender's aura by being in an ally's/enemy's square.

Yakuza NinjIntimiAdin: Perma-stealth Striker that offers a little protection for ally's, and can intimidate bloodied enemies. Very Strong.

Chargeburgler with cheese Ranged attacks at the end of a charge along with perma-stealth. Solid, could be overpowered if tweaked.

Void Defender Defends giving a penalty to hit anyone but him, then removing himself from play. Can get somewhat broken in epic.

Scry and Die Attacking from around corners, while staying hidden. Moderate to broken, depending on the situation.

Skimisher Fly in, attack, and fly away. Also prevents enemies from coming close. Moderate to Broken depending on the enemy, but shouldn't make the game un-fun, as the rest of your team is at risk, and you have enough weaknesses.

Indestructible Simply won't die, even if you sleep though combat. One of THE most abusive character in 4e.

Death's Gatekeeper A fun twist on a healic, making your party "unkillable". Overpowered to Broken, but shouldn't actually make the game un-fun, just TPK proof.

Death's Gatekeeper mk2, (Stealth Edition) Make your party "unkillable", and you hidden, while doing solid damage. Stronger then the above, but also easier for a DM to shut down. Broken, until your DM get's enough of it.

Domination and Death Dominate everything then kill them quickly. Only works @ 30, but is broken multiple ways.

Seriously though, I'd be OK if it were a standard combat action, much like disengage.

The problem with it as a maneuver, is the infrequency with which it might see the table at all. Even for a fighter. There are so many other, more "important" maneuvers that will catch most players' eye. Maneuvers are such a limited commodity on the character sheet. What do you give up to be able to charge?

Imagine a world where the first-time D&D player rolls stats, picks a race, picks a class, picks an alignment, and buys gear to create a character. Imagine if an experienced player, maybe the person helping our theoretical player learn the ropes, could also make a character by rolling ability scores and picking a race, class, feat, skills, class features, spells or powers, and so on. Those two players used different paths to build characters, but the system design allows them to play at the same table. -Mearl

"It is a general popular error to suppose the loudest complainers for the publick to be the most anxious for its welfare." - Edmund Burke

At least in the last packet there isn't a surprise attack maneuver that I could find. If you are talking about the surprise action/round in combat i don't see how that replaces charge. Unfortunately I don't have previous packets on ky phone to double check them for the maneuver

Imagine a world where the first-time D&D player rolls stats, picks a race, picks a class, picks an alignment, and buys gear to create a character. Imagine if an experienced player, maybe the person helping our theoretical player learn the ropes, could also make a character by rolling ability scores and picking a race, class, feat, skills, class features, spells or powers, and so on. Those two players used different paths to build characters, but the system design allows them to play at the same table. -Mearl

"It is a general popular error to suppose the loudest complainers for the publick to be the most anxious for its welfare." - Edmund Burke

Talk about going big or going home. I would start using max hit points for the monsters. Try monsters above their level. Give monsters an extra hit dice. The key is damage. At level one you really dont want to go above a d6 still except against fighters. If you have a lot of fighters send someone with a d8 or d10 after them.